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MOROCCO: King says not giving in to 'demagoguery'

Moroccan King Mohammed VI said he would not give in to "demagoguery" a day after thousands of people took to the street to demand he give up some of his powers to a newly elected government.

The monarch, speaking after he chaired a ceremony for the long-awaited appointments of members of a social and economic council, said that building an effective democracy should go hand in hand with sustainable human development.

The remarks were carried by Morocco's official MAP news agency.

Meanwhile, scores of protesters attended a rally demanding political reform and limits on the king's powers in Rabat on Monday, including Khadija Riyadi, president of the Moroccan Assn. of Human Rights.

-- Molly Hennessy-Fiske

Photo: Demonstrators demanding political reform and limits on the powers of King Mohammed VI stage a protest Monday in Rabat. Five bodies were found in a bank set ablaze during unrest that erupted in Morocco last weekend after thousands of people demonstrated in several cities for change, government officials said Monday. Credit: Abdelhak Senna/AFP/Getty Images